Party Bus Stag Do

It’s a nightclub that moves. A stag do party bus picks the lads up, plays the music loud, flashes a lot of lights at you and drives you round town between bars while the night carries on inside. Most come with a sound system, disco lighting and a driver who has seen it all and will not be impressed by your dancing.

It’s a party, on a bus. There’s not much more to explain. What I’d add is that it quietly solves the biggest headache of any night out, which is getting fifteen grown men from one place to the next without losing two of them on the way.

Transport on a stag do is usually a mess. Taxis split the group, someone’s phone dies, and the stag ends up in the wrong postcode. A party bus keeps everyone in one place and turns the boring bit between venues into part of the night.

It’s also a cracking way to start. Twenty minutes of terrible singalongs does more for a group that hasn’t met than any icebreaker. By the first bar the stag’s school mates and his work mates are best friends, or at least sharing a chorus.

And it suits everyone. Nobody needs to be fit, nobody needs to be brave, and the quiet ones can sit at the back and judge. If you’ve got dads, uncles or a future father-in-law on the trip, this is one of the few things that works for all of them.

It makes the stag feel like a celebrity, too. Pulling up outside a bar in a bus full of noise and lights is a proper entrance, and he’ll be the one stepping off first.

• The booze rule. Some buses include drinks, some let you bring your own, and some have rules about glass or about drinking on board at all. Ask before you load up the carrier bags.
• The route. Find out whether the driver follows a set route or takes you where you like. Agree the stops in advance so nobody argues about it at 11pm.
• Timings. Most hires run for a set number of hours. Know when the music stops so you’re not stranded miles from the hotel.
• Cleaning and damage. Read the terms. Being sick on a party bus can get expensive, and it’s usually the best man who gets the bill.
• Numbers. Buses come in different sizes. Give the provider a real headcount, including the lad who’s “probably” coming.
• Pick up and drop off. Check where it collects you and where it leaves you. The hotel door is ideal. A ring road at 1am is not.

A party bus works best as the opening act. Pair it with a pub crawl and let it drop you at the first bar, or use it to ferry the group to a casino after dinner. Big night out cities like Newcastle, Liverpool and Blackpool suit it well.

For the full effect, get everyone in matching shirts or something sillier from our stag do costumes. The photos from inside a party bus are already questionable. You may as well commit.